Antifa groups primarily organize of social media, like Twitter, Instagram, and with secure messaging services. Their websites are historically small and get very little actual web traffic.
The most well known Antifa-linked website is called Its Going Down [IGD]. It is a clearing house for information on far-left, largely openly violent, extremist groups. It has been deplatformed by a few tech companies, such as PayPal, but nothing like the persecution that manly mainline conservative websites sites have faced.
On January 20th, IGD ran the headline “Why A New ‘War On Terror’ Will Just Mean An Expanded War On Dissent.” The DPTA is supposed to increase money and resources for Federal law enforcement agencies to fight “domestic terrorism threats, with a specific focus on white supremacists.” Basically it creates three new permanent offices within the Department of Justice to monitor and assess alleged “domestic terrorist” threats. The bill, HR 350, is sponsored by four Democrats and three Republicans. Biden’s Press Secretary has already said Biden supports the bill.
Of course, the Federal government has been monitoring and infiltrating potential domestic terrorists for decades. Some think that DPTA will lead to state sponsored persecution of the right. Others think it is meaningless theater, meant to re-enforce the narratives put forward by House leaders, like Nancy Pelosi. Meanwhile, some of the left say they are the real target, and DPTA is a false pretense to crack down on them.
IGD accuses both Democrats and Republicans of using the storming of the Capitol Building as false pretense to criminalize protesting in general. Of course, IGD is saying this from a standpoint that violence is a legitimate part of protesting.
IGD accuses the right of using more violence than the left. Something, they do not seem to actually believe themselves. In between railing about alleged non-specific acts of “right-wing terror” with no sources, they admit that violence at conservative protests and events is unusual. “But things approximating a riot, property destruction, militant mass action, these are things we are not as accustomed to seeing from the Right.” It goes to mock the media’s sensationalizing of the events at the Capitol building, “it makes a better story. Throw in the word “coup” and it’s all packaged up to steal the show.” It follows with “Who really cares about the windows at the Capitol or Nancy Pelosi’s podium anyway!?”
IGD also openly mocks conservatives for how much they cooperate with law enforcement, “these right-wing types are all too eager to cooperate with law enforcement, to the detriment of both themselves and their friends.”
IGD goes on to to say that the real alleged danger from the right is their ideology and not violent action. They insinuate that far-left militants are justified in using violence to suppress the first amendment rights of people on the right, because their very beliefs are equal to violence.
IGD says that DPTA could be used to protect conservatives, by restricting far-left militants from using violence to suppress them. They say liberals have “spent years legitimizing the rise of fascism.”
IGD denounces what it calls “law-and-order liberals” and “centrist media” like CNN and The New York Times. It concludes with “We can be absolutely sure that any domestic terrorism legislation will be disproportionately used against the Left.”
Recently, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler denounced Antifa by name. This came as a shock to everyone, both on the right and the left. Wheeler has been accused of protecting Antifa for years, but on New Year’s Day, Wheeler pledged that the city of Portland will finally begin prosecuting Antifa criminals.
During the recent round of Antifa rioting on January 20th, Portland police arrested 15 people. Some of them have already been arrested one or more times for rioting in the past, but never prosecuted. It remains to be seen in Wheeler makes good on his promise.
